Today is Coming of Age Day in Japan, a holiday in which adolescents become adults. Local city halls in towns across the country invite the newly minted adults for a small ceremony, a tradition that dates back to 714 AD. Of course we at JNC plan to welcome another round of cars into the 25 Year Club, a bit older than adulthood, but you get the idea.
What’s the most anticipated “Class of 1990” JNC?
1990 marks What we have here is a cornucopia of choice, from tuner favorites like the ST185 Celica, DA Acura Integra, and original Mitsubishi Eclipse to sensible sedans like the CB7 Honda Accord. Weird JDM cars such as the Toyota Sera enter the fold, as do supercars like the JC Mazda Cosmo and Acura NSX.
What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What question should we ask next year?”
This was one of our more far out questions, but all we can say is wow, you guys are a creative bunch. Bobby C conjured up “Star Saber,” a Mitsubishi Starion, while Adam created Rotor, a Mazda Miata to complement the actual RX-7 Transformer named (this is true) Camshaft. Jason Yamasaki‘s GT-R dinobot named Gojira made perfect sense, as did Spudenater‘s X30 Cressida wagon named Pack Rat.
However, from the very beginning it was clear that returning champion dickie‘s aptly named Datsun 810 Maxima Autobot by Nissan would be hard to beat. You should really this comment. It is hilarious:
For this week’s answer, i will submit separate options based on the Michael Bay and non-Michael Bay Transformers universes.
in Michael Bay’s world, you need to appeal to the lowest common denominator. the vegetable on life support receiving his nutrient slurpee through a feeding tube is the guy the writers have in mind when they’re spitballing to see how a joke or action sequence will go over with the audience. that’s why the 510 was labeouf’s ride in his most recent transformers movie. but should that REALLY be the JNC transformer? we can do better than that. for one, Transformers need to hide in plain sight. how are you going to make that work when your windshield is constantly being plastered with offers to buy and blog photographers are stalking your every move?
I nominate the destroyed mx83 Cressidas from the last movie make an appearance as the Michael Bay JNC Transformer of choice. They could be resurrected zombie-style from the junkyard they were parked in, complete with ruined bodies and fluids bleeding and cannibalized parts from other cars as real-life Cressida owners are wont to do. since their drivelines were mostly useless long before they were bought up to act as extras behind Marky Mark, they’d make effective clubs in the hands of our undead JNC warriors. as for their names, i’d suggest they be controlled by some form of collective hivemind ‘bot called “Sludge” in reference to the lovely BHG milkshake you’d likely find in any of their oil pans.
for the purists who recognize http://youtu.be/Cf_qfX9cKsQ as the real Transformers movie: i haven’t forgotten about you. it’s getting harder to see any JNC as being able to blend into the background these days, but if you wanted to be a Robot in Disguise you could choose one of the more understated models – the Datsun 810. its unassuming boxy styling was in-step with the design language of the era and there are tons of Cash for Clunkers survivors still roaming the roads that approximate the proto-Maxima in profile.
as an added bonus, these cars came equipped with a phonograph voice box, meaning that he’d go into battle screaming stuff like “KEY IS IN THE IGNITION!” in a scratchy, feminine voice. what more could you possibly want from an appropriately classic robot? name suggestions for this one and his recolors include, “Scratch,” “Ding,” and the intentionally confusing “Datsun 810 Maxima Autobot by Nissan”.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
For the NSX it seems a pretty big deal…
But I’m just happy my s5 rx7 vert has now crossed the threshold.
She was rewarded with a new koyo rad and new oil cooler lines.
HP10 Primera (most anticipated by it’s cult fans)
But not likely I’d be rolling into JCCS in a Primera–even if it does qualify.
Mazda RX-7, the FD generation. Honestly, this is the last of the pure sports cars Mazda has ever made. The RX-8 was nice too, but it has 4 seats. It’s not really the same sports car as the RX-7 that preceded it. It had four seats, wasn’t as powerful as it could have been and it just seems like it wasn’t as nimble in general. This is significant especially since there seems to be no good news in the near future for a new rotary sports car.
It has to be the FD RX-7, especially since the Fast and Furious crowd hasn’t been nice to it either.
FD debuted in Japan towards the end of ’91. Be patient, just one more year!
AH!
I misread class of 1990 as any car made in the 90’s that we should consider next.
🙁
Let’s pretend that the year 1989 didn’t happen and say the 1990 Suzuki Swift GTi! Yes… I know that the first year for this car was 1989, but humor me. These cars need more love. 100hp and 1700lbs!! You do the maths..
Yes, but why pretend that? After all, 1990 was still a banner year for the:Barina/Cultus/Firefly/Metro/Sprint/Swift/Justy platform (GM G chassis) in that it marked the arrival of the Geo Metro (among others) convertible! No longer were you forced to have an inordinate number of cylinders/rotors if you wanted to go topless! Now you could have a reliable Suzuki paint mixer three thrumming away under the hood with the wind in your hair. Better yet, it could leave your neighbor’s mid 80’s 3.8 liter Cutlass in the dust thanks to a 7 second faster 0-60 time. Not only that, but the heavier convertible model also came with the shortest geared version of the MV2 5 speed gearbox, meaning that burnt exhaust valves were just a road trip away at the national 55 MPH speed limit.
Happily though, the ones that survive today are likely to be owned by those of us who cherish simple motoring in a simple car and many have seen simple changes that make them simply reliable on modern roads. My own 4 door FrankenMetro has seen nearly 300,000 miles and retains at least some of it’s original parts! (Does the roof count?) Sadly though, I have yet to own the convertible version and so it remains on my automotive bucket list along with the legendary Trabant 601, Zaporozhetz 965 and Honda N600.
It has to be the Mitsubishi GTO/3000GT! It was built to compete with the Japanese sports cars back then. It has lot of new performance technologies such as full-time four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, active aerodynamics featuring automatically adjusting front and rear spoilers, sport/tour exhaust modes and electronically controlled suspension (ECS). And of course it has the cool flip lights on the 1990 model.
The sw20 mr2! The mr2 transitioned from being a nimble and quirky japanese version of a fiat x1/9 that Joe Blow Camaro owner would probably mistake for a fiero– to a gorgeous, curvy, vessel worthy of being deemed a “poor man’s Ferrari!” A proper 2 liter turbo engine was added that used the same block as several 800hp toyota race cars and powers plenty of sub 9-second starlet and corolla drag cars. This generation also would go on to house the Yamaha-tuned 3sge BEAMS motor, which is essentially a large motorcycle engine that was pushing 100hp per liter n/a in a rwd car years before the s2000. The sw20 was a perfect example of what the 90s had in store for japanese sports cars and is definitely the most anticipated JNC of 1990!
240sx?
I wouldn’t call the 2nd car in my comment “anticipated” but as an owner I had to include it. The two main sports cars Toyota had in 1990. The one with Eddie Murphy as the advertiser and the one that looked like a melted bar of soap. That’s right! The SW20 and Celica.
For me…It’s the Acura/Honda NSX because it’s the answer to the Ferrari and It was even tested by the late F1 Legend Ayrton Senna…..most of all…it is the first car to be built in all-aluminum monocoque body…..everything is perfect for this car….especially it is the affordable version of the Ferrari(Or Should I call it The Japanese Ferrari) and right now 25 years later….An Icon is Reborn once again 🙂
The ST185 Celica! This car kicked off the decade of the 90s bubble styling. A design language so sexy and timeless that now, 2 decades later, people still can see a mint 90s car and think it is brand new. As much as I love 80s cars, and I really f’in do, they’ve looked horribly dated and old to average dopes… ever since those bubble cars showed up. (And unfortunately thats still how 80s cars are seen today)
Not only did the 1990 Celica introduce the world to a totally fresh AND attractive (compare to Ford Focus and Audi TT, which introduced the world to a totally fresh style – an ugly one), but the Celica was a good car. The GT4 was the first legitimate Japanese rally star, the first legitimate champ. JNC fans love to brag about how a 240Z won some East African Safari rallies, or how Joginder Singh made all the Africans love Mitsubishi, and so on. Nevermind that those cars spend the rest of their seasons roundly getting smoked. The ST185 was the FIRST Japanese car to be the WRC champ, and its a total underdog today since Mitsubishi and Subaru have all the Japanese rally publicity and Toyota doesn’t even come to mind (unless you are a GT4/All-trac fan)… and unlike the Impreza/Lancer, its an attractive curvy coupe, not a up 4 door subcompact economy car.
Main thing though is what 1990 Celica did to car styling. It instantly made the likes of a S13 or a Honda Prelude look like old beaters. Only its own brand new stablemates looked like they were a contemporary, Sera and MR2. Integra, Eclipse, CB7… they all looked OLD in comparison, brand new designs, looking like they are old and tired right from the beginning thanks to the Celica. Even the Cosmo and the NSX look like they predate the ST Celica by about 5 years.
The Toyota Previa/Estima. A minivan so ahead of it’s time, even Lee Iaccoca of Chrysler accused Toyota of dumping the car in the USA to poo-poo on the sales Chrysler was doing with their minivans. The van had a egg shape, which contrasted with the sharpness of the Dodge Caravan, While the US got the shit-tier of the Estima/Previa lines options wise, other markets got better stuff, like TWO sizes, an ice/hotbox fridge, 3 seating layouts (USA got one), RWD & AWD, and an engine that could cope.
Too bad many are now either scrapped…..or still soldier on as jalopies.